Businesses won’t need to enforce 2m of ‘social distancing’ rules if other precautions are taken

Companies will not have to enforce the two-meter “social distancing” rules when the coronavirus blockade is relieved, provided they can demonstrate that they keep staff safe.

The ‘road map’ form of crippling restrictions has begun to emerge, with a leaked draft suggesting that it will acknowledge that gaps between workers are not always possible to maintain.

Instead, companies will be informed that they can take other precautions, such as installing screens and imposing strict hygiene procedures.

In the meantime, offices will be asked to review their rotations to minimize risks by staggering arrival, rest, and departure times, ending the desk, and avoiding sharing equipment.

Boris Johnson is expected to reveal the exit strategy in a speech to the nation on Sunday, having delayed Thursday’s announcement as frantic work continues in Whitehall.

Ministers have been under massive pressure to set the way forward, and current draconian restrictions are estimated to be costing the country £ 2 billion a day.

Defense Secretary Ben Wallace told Sky News that protective screens and ensuring people were not close together could reduce the need for strict distance.

‘You can look at the armor, you can see how long you stay close to people. The two-meter rule reduces the chance of infection for a certain amount of time, “he said.

‘If you cut that in half, it still keeps people away from infection, but for a shorter time. The probability of becoming infected is much less.

‘I think there are options on how we can do it. You can use EPP, which could be a possibility if you have to be very close or you could actually find other ways to do it. ”

He pointed to supermarket workers working behind ‘shields’.

Sir Jeremy Farrar, a SAGE member and head of the Wellcome Trust, said there was “nothing magical” about the two-meter board, and he relied on long-standing evidence of how far coughs and sneezes would travel.

“There is nothing magical in two meters,” he told the BBC Radio 4 Today program. “Perhaps the most important thing is the time you spend near another person.”

In other developments in the coronavirus crisis

• Education Secretary Gavin Williamson announced a support package worth nearly £ 3 billion to help universities overcome the coronavirus crisis;
• A smartphone app to track the spread of the coronavirus will be tested on the Isle of Wight this week before launching more widely later this month;
• Edinburgh scientists have developed a new “fast and accurate” coronavirus antibody test, although the company fears the NHS may be lost amid interest in Europe for machines;
• Heathrow Airport has warned travelers that they may face kilometer-long queues to board flights;
• Former government chief scientific adviser Sir David King has brought together a group of experts to discuss how the UK could pull out of the blockade in response to concerns about ‘lack of transparency’ coming from advisory group Sage.

Wallace effectively confirmed the draft, the version of which was leaked to the BBC and the Financial Times.

He suggested that vulnerable staff, such as people over 70, pregnant, with underlying health conditions, or pregnant, should be placed in the “safest possible roles.”

The guide is clear that anyone who can work from home should continue to do so, which means that many employees will be out of the office in the coming months.

But the draft does not detail what steps should be taken regarding the PPE, but simply says that more information will follow. Some companies fear being open to legal action by staff if they loosen the rules without clear government direction.

Wallace played down concerns that ‘coronaphobia’ could hamper efforts to get the economy back on track, with polls showing that significant numbers would be nervous about getting back to work.

The Defense Secretary said: ‘I firmly believe that the public is not stupid. They read advice, they listen to the media.

‘They took into account the government’s advice … and I think they will be able to read perfectly the next stage of the government when we get there.

“I am absolutely sure when it comes to the next step, we can all move forward together.”

Johnson will describe the race to develop a coronavirus vaccine as the “most urgent shared effort of our lives” later as he calls on nations to “unite” in response to the pandemic.

The Prime Minister is expected to say at an online pledging conference, jointly organized by the UK and eight other countries and organizations, that the sooner states share their experience, the faster scientists will be able to defeat the disease.

It occurs when Johnson revealed that he feared he would not live to see his son Wilfred born when he fought Covid-19 in intensive care last month.

The prime minister will tell the conference, which aims to raise more than £ 6.6 billion in funds, that the race to develop a vaccine “is not a competition between countries but the most urgent shared effort of our lives.”

“It is humanity against the virus: we are in this together and we will prevail together,” he is expected to say.

The coronavirus has claimed more than 246,000 lives worldwide, according to analysis by John Hopkins University.

A total of 28,446 people died in hospitals, nursing homes and the wider community after testing positive for coronavirus in the UK as of 5pm on Saturday.

Meanwhile, the government faces further pressure on the tests, after the daily number fell to 76,496, below the 100,000 target.

Cabinet Minister Michael Gove said at the Downing Street daily press conference last night: “ Ultimately, unless and until we have a vaccine, I suspect we will have to live with some degree of restriction due to the nature of the virus.

“But obviously we want, wherever possible, and consistent with public health measures, to restore people’s lives as close to normal as possible.”

He said the government will seek a “gradual approach” to remove blocking restrictions rather than a sudden return to “the old normal”, and that the relaxation had to be done in a “cautious way”.

Boris Johnson says fear of never seeing her new son gave her the will to beat the coronavirus

Boris Johnson has revealed that fear of never seeing his newborn son led him into his battle against the coronavirus.

The 55-year-old prime minister spent a week in April at St Thomas Hospital in London battling the virus, including three days in intensive care, and admitted yesterday that doctors had prepared to announce his death.

Now, in an interview with The Sun, she opened up more in her fight against the virus, saying she focused on “positive thoughts” about pregnant fiancé Carrie Symonds and the impending birth of her son.

He said, ‘We all have a lot to live for, a lot to do, and I’m not going to hide it from you, I was thinking about that, yes.’

Her son Wilfred Lawrie Nicholas Johnson was born last Wednesday, just over two weeks after the Prime Minister was released from the hospital.

Johnson added in the interview that he was “excited” about the birth and also described his experience in the hospital in greater detail.

He said he jumped into his hospital bed wearing only his underpants to ‘clap like crazy’ for the NHS, just two hours after leaving intensive care.

He added: ‘It was a Thursday when I left the ICU and with me I had a nurse named Becky and a nurse named, I think, Angel.

It was in my boxers, nothing else. We stood up and there was a big window looking out onto the Thames and we saw the Met and the Fire Department doing this display with their ships.

“It was just fantastic.”

He also praised the NHS staff who treated him at St Thomas Hospital, saying “they took my chestnuts out of the fire, no doubt.”

Speaking today, Donald Trump revealed that he and Johnson had discussed the latter’s battle with the virus.

He told Fox News: ‘He [Mr Johnson] was a victim (of this thing). He thought it was all over.